April 17, 2019
Significance on the Basketball Court
How to become a player who has significance on the basketball court.
“Success is fleeting. Significance is lasting.”
Everyone wants to be a basketball player who impacts the game in a powerful way. At NBC Basketball, we want our athletes to be the must-have player on the court. This requires the will be build significance on the court. Significance is a combination of the words: meaning, energy, and force. People who live significant lives leave an impact everywhere they go. How do you live a life of significance? Ironically, when we try and pursue significance without having deep wisdom, we become the very opposite. As F. Scott Fitzgerald so humorously pointed out in one of his novels, “He thinks himself rather an exceptional young man, thoroughly sophisticated, well-adjusted to his environment, and somewhat more significant than anyone else he knows.” How would you define significance? Social media power? Fame? What gives your life significance? Take this month to wrestle with what it means to live a significant life.
The more you try and become significant in the eyes of your team and the eyes of your coaches, the more you diminish your significance. If you want to be a significant player—defined as a player who elevates the game. Here are some ways to channel your focus and mindset.
Here are important ways to have significance on the basketball court.
Effort—apply yourself every drill, every practice, every time. Your effort elevates those who watch you. Effort is contagious and you will become the effort leader which is invaluable on a team.
Energy—bring a dynamic energy to every practice. Energy is an indication of health. When you walk onto the court what kind of energy do you exude? Out of control? Passive? Tentative? Walk tall, remove strife, give all, and speak life.
Example--- are you worthy of being imitated? Does your life, words, mindset, and attitude reflect a person who elevates others? Are you a leader worthy of following?
Edification—Are your teammates better people because of their friendship with you? To edify means to build up morally or in the faith or to improve spiritually. Does your life reflect the values you follow? Do your actions and words edify the team and honor your family, your family, and your community? Edification begins first with edifying ourselves. Read scripture, pray, and meditate, get a mentor and build a life that is overflowing with wisdom and insight.
Encouragement--- Do you speak in a way that gives courage, integrity, and power to the team? Most people are very skilled at criticism. They are gifted at saying words that penetrate and hurt us. Become a leader skilled at the ability to do the opposite. Be someone who can say words that penetrate someone’s heart and give them a jolt of courage and power. Give them words that ring back positively in their minds throughout their whole life.
About NBC Basketball
NBC Basketball began in 1971 with the vision of helping athletes become better at basketball and at life. Thousands of athletes have attended camps which are now located in six countries. If you love basketball enough to work hard, you need to be at NBC Basketball Camps. Find a program for you at www.nbccamps.com/basketball.